google does green

http://services.google.com/earth/green/

it appears to be a list of green sites to see and things to do in
cities around the US.
of-course I did not look through it all (almost at all) as I am busy
but I am passing it on as an item of note.

for those with homes

The Value of A High Efficiency Home Furnace

June 22, 2006 07:08 AM - John Laumer, Philadelphia


“Is a high efficiency furnace worth it”? That’s the question
posed by Kim, one of our readers. From a technology standpoint, we
scanned this overview by “HomeTips.com" and decided there are too
many options to offer a yes or no answer. A few efficiency points
added to millions of home furnaces would result in a large cumulative
cutback in greenhouse gas emissions; and, hopefully, much money
saved. But, is it worth that outcome to discard millions of perfectly
good furnaces, taking a chance on newer technology, of unknown
reliability? Could there be unintended consequences? Lets start with
an assumption that your existing furnace burns natural gas or
propane, is quite old, and operates near or below the low end of the
“name plate” efficiency range of modern furnaces. Unfortunately,
if you burn oil, and have no access to natural gas, there is not much
can be done in the way of high efficiency furnace technology. If
thats' the case, skip to the next post!

If you have access to gas, numbers first. Get three or more directly
competitive bids. Ask each bidder to give you one estimate for a
“budget” system, of high reliability, but low capital cost; and
another bid for a high efficiency furnace. Ask for detailed line
items in the bids, and be certain to ask that the exact Annual Fuel
Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating be included on each furnace listed.

If a bidder gives you line item details on one system and not the
other, tell him to try again. Rule of thumb: unresponsive bidders are
the unlikely to provide reliable cost estimates.

Choose bid(s) you like: one high and one low. What is the installed
cost difference between them? Is it hundreds; or is it thousands? If
it’s a few hundred, the decision can rest on reliability.

If the installed cost difference is thousands, you’ll want to know
that the payback period is relatively short for the high performing
furnace. OEM furnace makers usually supply guidance on expected cost
savings. Check their web sites.

For a ‘back of envelope’ projection of annual fuel savings of the
high-end model versus the low-end model, figure out what your fuel
bill was last year. Although even the “budget” system likely could
do substantially better than your existing furnace, use your actual
fuel consumption for a “conservative” baseline. Considering that
the weather and fuel prices are both fairly unpredictable, and likely
to be less predictable in the future, this is about as good as you'll
be able to do with fuel cost basis for your comparison.

Calculate the incremental annual savings of the high-end system by
direct proportion. Here’s a hypothetical example:

79% AFUE budget system
-------------------------- * Last year’s bill = lowered fuel bill.
97.% AFUE high end system

0.814 * $2,400/yr = $1,954 (sample calcultion of fuel expense last
year with new high efficiency v.s. the new budget system for the
duration)

Incremental savings with the high end system would have been just
over $400/last year.

If you can find a furnace model comparable to your existing one and
it has a modern AFUE rating on the sticker (likely to be under AFUE
60), run the calculation again to see what the improvment would be
from your existing, to a new high end model. (In the hypothetical
example calculated savings would have been close to $900/year
assuming a 60 AFUE number for the existing furnace.)

Looking over the process diagram for the high efficiency condensing
gas furnace (see illustration), one of the odd things, both
environmentally and aesthetically, is that the existing chimney would
be abandoned, as only a small plastic pipe is needed to discharge the
cool, dry exhaust. Tearing down the chimney would be an added cost
that would certainly change the look of a building -- some would say
detrimentally. You'd at least want to see that any exterior chimney
bricks be re-used. Or just have it plugged and left in place.

The plastic pipe used for exhaust has has to be corrosion resistant
and very well could be vinyl: not an issue for this writer but some
may find it 'compromising.' Also needed is a condensate discharge
pump and line. Apparently the high efficiency gas furnaces discharge
several gallons of combustion produced water per day. Because natural
gas should be relatively free of metals, it may be possible to at
least consider using the condensate discharge as a feed for things
like toilet flushing, depending on corrosivity.

Bottom line: if the investment pays for itself in 5 to 10 years and
you can afford the cost, its all good for the worlds climate from the
first time you use it until end of its operating life.

http://tinyurl.com/llnuz

stuff 06-20-06

Multi-bot programming language accepting beta testers
Posted Jun 19th 2006 2:49PM by Evan Blass
Filed under: Robots


If you have what it takes to spend countless hours tinkering with
small robots, coding in a brand new language, and filing a stream of
bug reports, then the National Robotics Engineering Center wants you
to beta test its new multi-plaform bot programming software. Tasked
by the educational outreach department at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics
Academy with developing a commercial application capable of
controlling the most popular kits on the market, the team came up
with a language called RobotC, which can be used to write scripts for
both the NXT and RCX varieties of Lego Mindstorms bots as well as
that Vex Robotics kit we featured in our Holiday Gift Guide. As part
of the beta testing program, you'll get a free copy of the software
to play with in exchange for your promise to participate in the Bug
Tracking system -- which probably isn't much of a burden for those
hardcore enthusiasts who spend all day living, breathing, and
blogging this stuff anyway.
http://tinyurl.com/qjafr

Make yourself a human torch with Flash 8 and a webcam
Posted Jun 16th 2006 4:10PM by Jordan Running
Filed under: Fun


Back in December I mentioned a cool little Flash 8 demo by Grant
Skinner that interfaces with your webcam to make it look like you're
being snowed on. Okay, it sounds kinda lame when I explain it that
way, but it is pretty cool. Even cooler, though, is a new demo by
Skinner, which also requires Flash Player 8 and a compatible webcam,
that turns you into the human torch. While I don't have a webcam with
which to test it out, the screenshots look great even though Skinner
says they don't do it justice. Don't bother asking what this is good
for-it exists soley to be neat, and to teach you a bit about Flash
8's features.
http://tinyurl.com/p4xf5

Harvard Business Review: "Building the Green Way"

June 20, 2006 08:50 AM - John Laumer, Philadelphia


Author Charles Lockwood , speaking about his newly published article
in Harvard Business Review, reminds us that, “In the U.S., buildings
account for 39% of the nation’s total annual energy consumption,
whereas transportation (including cars) comprises only 27% of our
total energy use,…” His June 2006 HBR article begins with a
reminder of just how quickly the green building movement has become
practical and business-worthy. Deserving of a read in its entirety,
the full article, online version without photos, is available for a
limited time at this link . Charlie offers ten cardinal rules that
will be helpful for those who’ve not yet looked into the details of
green building (in truth, this probably means most big business
executives and developers). From HBR: “Building green is no longer a
pricey experiment; just about any company can do it on a standard
budget by implementing the following ten rules”.

http://tinyurl.com/o7rj4

Light Sleeper – It Design’s Cardboard Bed

June 20, 2006 08:00 AM - Leonora Oppenheim, Barcelona


Since you all loved the idea of Mothercare’s cardboard cot so much
(arrrgghhh who’d let their child sleep in something made out of
cardboard!) I wonder what you’ll think of this? A bed base made from
cardboard eh? Well we certainly like It Design’s concept, it uses a
sustainable, lightweight and cheap material, which for the urban
nomad is easily transportable. From the photos it looks great; simple
and easy to assemble, but I wonder how sturdy it really is? They have
photos of kids are playing on it, and even people doing yoga on it!
But still you might not want to put it under too much strain. The
Itbed is made from 7mm thick cardboard and is stabilized from head to
foot with by two lengths of webbing. It comes in several widths from
90 to 160cm and in two versions one for a futon, ideal as a guest
bed, and one for a regular mattress. It is a label from Switzerland
that has 'designed and produced compact and flexible furniture for
young and mobile urbanites since 1997. The label has been created by
the two architects Valérie Jomini and Stanislas Zimmermann.' Check
out other their other minimal lightweight designs and mobile
inflatable showroom! Thanks to tippster Zerlina ::It Design.

http://tinyurl.com/qeppn

No, I'm Sorry, It Does.

UPDATE!!: The saga continues at this post.

Every year I get a few kids in my classes who argue with me on this.
And there are arguers all over the web. And I just know I'm going to
get contentious "but it just can't be true" whiners in my comments.
But I feel obliged to step into this fray.

.9 repeating equals one. In other words, .9999999... is the same
number as 1. They're 2 different ways of writing the same number.
Kind of like 1.5, 1 1/2, 3/2, and 99/66. All the same. I know some
of you still don't believe me, so let me say it loudly:

(IT CONTINUES)

http://tinyurl.com/fn44j

Monty Python Toys


True fandom can't exist without product to fixate on. For example,
take a look at the collection of toys, plushies, and paraphernalia
based on the now classic comedy of Monty Python. True genius stands
the test of time, but everything can be helped with a little
marketing! Now you can be a Knight of Ni, or paddle around in your
own Rabbit With Pointy Teeth Slippers. Because even if you can't
appreciate the nuances of a Black Knight mini-plush, you can still
cop a little cool out of owning one, right?

http://tinyurl.com/o6xd6

Unimat 6-in-1 Cool Tool


I remember once someone told me about the best wedding gift they ever
received. He and his wife got matching Makita power drills. Now
that's romantic. Likewise, when I saw the Unimat 6-in-1 Cool Tool I
thought to myself 'who cares about picking out china and flatware?'
For the couple that likes to tinker together something like this
would be infinitely better. The Cool Tool is actually six machines in
one. Depending on the configuration it can be used as a jig-saw, wood
lathe, drill press, sanding machine, metal lathe or horizontal/
vertical mill. And with additional attachments (not included) the
system can be built upon to make additional machining tools! I can
definitely tell you that I'd use something like this much more than I
would nice table linens or a pretty vase.

http://tinyurl.com/ms82l

MAKING GOOD COFFEE

HOW TO GET A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE IN 9 MINUTES:
This is my adaptation of all the coffee making lore I have read or
listened to or watched on the food channel and elsewhere. Much of
what is out there on the net is total bull.

1) boil water, either in an electric pot or on the stove in a
standard tea kettle. While that is boiling:
2) Grind your beans. Do not buy the pre-ground, they lose flavor and
strength very quickly. Do not buy the beans sitting in the open
bins. Buy vacuum packed whole beans. As for storage of beans, many
people will tell you to store them in the freezer, this is fine if
you are not going to take them out more than once. The problem with
taking a bag of beans from the freezer and opening it and then
putting it back is the condensation that forms in step 2 (opening
it). that water leaches flavor from the beans. Some people go nuts
and buy the 60 or 300 dollar coffee grinder with the cold spur
technology. blah. Buy the 10 dollar black and decker bean grinder.
yes the blades do heat up but unless your grinding 12 cups worth of
coffee at a time, its not a big deal. Grind your beans to a course
grind level. Not too fine, it may take some practice to get it right.
3) put your course ground beans into a french press (did I not
mention to buy one of those?) then poor boiling water over it.
IMPORTANT: do not let the water cool for more than a few seconds
before poring it over the coffee. This is not so that you will have
hot coffee, its so that the water will be hot enough to get the
coffee from the grounds. Cooler water will result in less taste and
more bitterness.
4) place the lid onto the french press but do not press it down yet,
set a timer or watch the clock for 5 or 6 minutes.
5) press down the top, thereby filtering the coffee (I find it makes
it easier to press if you do it in a stutter step. ie press down an
inch, pull up half an inch, repeat. This clears the grinds from the
mesh allowing it to move forward. If you push down hard and try to
make it to the bottom in one fast go, you will find great resistance
and risk breaking your french press.... I broke my first one that
way), and poor into a mug (or thermos). Fresh GOOD coffee is now yours.

Further notes on good coffee. good coffee requires good beans, and
that goes doubly for decaf (when coffee is decaffeinated it loses
some of its flavor. Even the best decafinated beans are not as
flavorful and true tasting as the same bean with caffeine.
Therefore, higher grade beans make better decaf and that is why good
decaf often costs more than regular). Different kinds have different
tastes plus different amounts of roasting will result in different
levels of the taste coming through. I personally prefer a dark city
roast to anything else. In my opinion french roast is a waste, might
as well drink charcoal. BTW, the darker the roast the more bitter
the coffee and the lower the amount of caffeine that survives the
roasting. Finally the common misperception is that if the coffee is
too bitter you need to use less grounds. That is incorrect. The
first items to get pulled out of the bean by the hot water is the
caffeine and the taste characteristics. The more water that passes
over the grounds the more items it will pull out, the later items
include several phenols and a number of nasty tannins (think bitter
parts of red wine). So if you reduce the amount of grounds, more
water will act on the grounds that are left and more bitterness will
result. Increasing the amount of grinds will decrease bitterness but
increase caffeine as it is the first thing to come out.

All of this assumes you have 20 minutes in the morning for coffee (9
to make it and 11 to enjoy it) or want to take a thermos/travel mug
with you.

and you want to buy beans and a grinder and a french press.

news-stuff-6/15/06

ilicon is easily converted into glass
The Tire Ball prevents flat tyres
(link to this article)

June 15, 2006 The pneumatic tire has been one of the stand-out
commercially-successful inventions of history, with around 1.2
billion car and truck tires sold each year, and an indeterminate
number of bicycle, motorcycle and RV tyres on top of that. Whatsmore,
the better it works, the quicker it wears out, ensuring that
there’ll be a market next year because 75% of the tires sold will be
replacements. Quite remarkably, despite such ubiquitous usage, the
pneumatic tire has a massive Achilles heel – lose the air and it
stops the vehicle.

http://tinyurl.com/mb3l8

Volvo Multi-Fuel high performance prototype that runs on five
different fuels
(link to this article)

Page: 1 2

June 15, 2006 The Michelin Challenge Binendum finished in Paris on
the weekend, completing yet another showcase of the world’s most
interesting clean technologies and energies for motorized vehicles.
Each Bibendum sees a who’s who of the world’s automotive
manufacturers put their latest concept vehicles on the park and this
year some concept vehicles were actually rolled out for the event.
One that really caught our attention was the Volvo Multi-Fuel
prototype, which is optimised for running on five different fuel
types; hythane (10% hydrogen and 90% methane), biomethane, natural
gas, bioethanol E85 and petrol. The idea, according to Volvo, is to
make use of the fuels that are produced locally. This means that less
fuel needs to be transported between continents, and you can fill up
the car on the fuel that is available wherever you are.

http://tinyurl.com/pe7ns

Dry ice creates toughened glass A form of solid carbon dioxide that
could be used to make ultra-hard glass or coatings for
microelectronic devices has been discovered The material, named
amorphous carbonia, was created by scientists from the University of
Florence in Italy. Writing in the journal Nature, the team say the
material was theoretically possible but had never been created. It
was made by squeezing dry ice, a form of carbon dioxide used to
create smoke in stage shows, at huge pressure. Scientists are
interested in the new material because of the potential applications.
Also they believe it could give them clues to the processes that
happen in the centre of huge gas giant planets like Jupiter.
http://tinyurl.com/pajbw

Firms 'to waste £500m of energy' UK businesses will waste more than
£500m worth of energy over the summer months, a report has said. The
study for the Carbon Trust says the "staggering" £570m wastage will
result in more than eight million tonnes of CO2 being released into
the atmosphere. Firms could cut their emissions and bills by 15% if
they used energy more wisely, the trust suggests. The report
coincides with the launch of a £4m campaign to encourage businesses
to become more energy efficient.
http://tinyurl.com/naut5

Report fuels spy plane theories The UK knows more than it is saying
about top secret American aircraft projects, recently declassified
documents reveal. Deep inside a previously secret Ministry of Defence
report are a few pages which will reignite one of the biggest
internet conspiracy questions - Is the US Air Force building secret
spy planes which can cross the sky at 3,000mph? The plane, which is
often referred to as Aurora, is supposed to be a follow on from the
U2 spy plane and the 2,000mph SR71 Blackbird, both of which were
first developed and flown in secrecy as 'Black' projects. The MoD
report from 2000 says the USAF plans to produce "highly supersonic
vehicles at Mach 4 to 6" and hypersonic unmanned craft which will fly
in the upper atmosphere and in space. In 2003, the USAF revealed it
had been working on a hypersonic unmanned craft - the Falcon - but
denied building an Aurora-like Mach 4 to 6 aircraft. The Aurora has
100,000 web pages devoted to it - a lot for an aircraft which may not
exist. According to Jane's Defence Review a third of USAF spending
on research and development and procurement goes on classified
projects. Some of that helps pay for the development of spy
satellites and intelligence activities. But a sizable proportion goes
on the development of secret manned and unmanned aircraft.
http://tinyurl.com/rjg3x

Filson
Traditional wool wear


Filson's gear is made in Washington state and is superior to almost
all of the winter/outdoor gear I've used. They are a bit spendy but
spectacularly well made, and they wear like iron. I imagine my Filson
Mackinaw will be handed down to my daughter and then to her children
before its usefulness has departed. The woolen gear is quiet in the
woods, keeps you warm even if damp or wet, and smells just fine to
boot. Thumbs up.

-- Tex

Filson's Mackinaw Cruiser
$265
Available from Filson

http://tinyurl.com/pnbkz

Solar Powered Air Conditioning: an Overview June 15, 2006 06:22 AM -
Lloyd Alter, Toronto Some concepts just make sense- like when the
developer of a solar powered pontoon boat pointed out-"Since most
recreational boating is done when the weather is nice, solar power is
particularly well adapted to the task." We were thinking that way
while looking for a solar powered air conditioner- when do you need
it? When it is hot and sunny.We looked at Justin's SolCool but we
knew that natural gas fired AC units or propane fridges existed and
thought heat is heat- there must be one somewhere, and put google to
work. This is the first of a series- the Direct-Fired Absorption
system.(DFA) Gas fired air conditioners work on the absorption
principle. "The distinguishing characteristic of absorption cooling
equipment is that it produces cooling by using heat energy as an
input, rather than by using mechanical energy. For this reason,
absorption chillers were once common in facilities that had large
boiler plants with excess capacity during the cooling season.
Unfortunately, absorption cooling is inefficient, and absorption
chillers appeared destined for extinction." ...In large absorption
machines, the actual refrigerant is water at very low pressure. An
absorber, usually the salt lithium bromide, is used to move water
vapor through the system. Crystallization of the salt is a major
operating problem that the design of an absorption chiller seeks to
avoid." Direct Absorption (DFA) was developed in Japan in the 60's
and now the world's largest maufacturer is Broad Air Conditioning in
China. "To power our absorption cycles, BROAD absorption chillers use
a wide range of energy sources: oil, gas, as well as solar power,
steam, hot water and exhaust. As our chillers do not use electricity
as an energy source, they have the potential to dramatically reduce
investment in electricity infrastructure in both public and private
sectors." They now appear to be extremely efficient and save lots of
electricity.
finally, we find on their site: " BROAD strives to be like our
ancestors that mastered the miracle of fire, like James Watt who
harnessed the power of steam, like Thomas Edison with his devotion to
testing and retesting. Our goal is to limit the use of fossil fuels
and exploit the use of renewable energies such as solar energy to
provide cooling and heating needs. Two years ago, BROAD provided an
American customer with our first solar energy powered air
conditioning system. This system has performed exceptionally well to
date. BROAD's solar energy engineers and salespeople have drafted an
ambitious plan to commercialize the solar energy air conditioning
system worldwide." We did not find the home-sized unit we were
looking for, but the peak loads in North America are driven by air
conditioning in summer- this looks like a good way of taking much of
that off the grid. Visit the surprisingly complete and thorough
website at ::Broad Air Conditioning and read their ::environmental
manifesto here

http://tinyurl.com/lgov5

GTD® on MindManager Template

My GTD® on MindManager template is now available for download as a a
zip file.

All feedback most welcomed.

For more information on Getting Things Done ® visit the website of
the David Allen Company, read his books and attend his seminars.

There were problems with the file download earlier, but it now seem
to be solved. If not please leave a comment. Many thanks in advance.

http://tinyurl.com/rqlf8

New LCD Technology Outperforms CRT This is something we’d thought
would happen eventually, but not this soon. eCinema Systems announced
that they’ve developed an LCD that surpasses CRT display quality,
and is planning to launch it it by Q4 of this year. The previous
shortcoming of LCD monitors was that they couldn’t support deep
blacks and real dark colors compared to CRT monitors. To solve this
problem, the new technology supports “deep color”—compatible
with the HDMI 1.3 spec we talked about yesterday—and can go up to 48-
bit colors. That’s the point at which humans can’t distinguish
onscreen color artifacts. Their DMC40HDR 40-inch LCD boasts these
features:

Darkest black level output of any TFT in the market
Can be used for professional color grading — previously done using
only CRTs
Can be used for professional critical picture evaluation —
previously done using only CRTs
Allows accurate viewing of intra-field motion on interlaced standards
Video displayed at true frame rates for all standards
Rugged shock mounted components for field operations
eCinema is also looking to make a 57-inch 1920x1080 LCD and a 82-inch
1920x1080 LCD. – JASON CHEN
eCinema Systems announces new LCD technology [SyphaOnline via Daily
Tech]
http://tinyurl.com/nfgbx

FOR THOSE BUYING HOUSES IN LA
Make a Quake Scientists have been working to uncover safer methods of
construction and new structural technologies that “mitigate” the
effects of earthquakes. And they’re finding that where a building is
erected is just as important as how it’s engineered

Discovery Channel has a cool earthquake simulator in which you are
able to pick from 2 options - type of ground and prevention - that
your building will have, and then pick the magnitude of the
Earthquake (tremor, quake or superquake) to make take the simulation.

Try it out and think twice before picking your next house ;P

Make a Quake at Discovery Channel

http://tinyurl.com/rm3xd

stuff 6-13-06

THE DIAMOND AGE IS APON US - - - ROD LOGIC IS HERE (see the pic)
Intel and TI brag about chip tech advancements

Posted Jun 12th 2006 4:18PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Laptops
Two of the biggest names in chips, Intel and Texas Instruments, have
taken this fine Monday to announce independent advancements made by
their R&D departments in the never-ending search to continue Moore's
law. TI kicked things off by unveiling their new 45nm manufacturing
process that uses some immersion lithography trickery to trump
Intel's current 65nm chips by 30 percent. They plan to use the tech
for memory chips. Intel, of course, is not to be outdone, and
announced a new better way to insulate circuits. Their new "tri-gate
transistors," which should be on the scene by 2010, reduce the power
leak problems experienced when transistors are dropped lower than
90nm. The tech could cut power consumption by as much as 35 percent
or boost performance by 45 percent. "This will be an option for chips
somewhere beyond 45 nm--in the 32 or 22 nm mode--so that gives us
confidence we can continue scaling Moore's Law into the next decade,"
said Intel's Mike Mayberry. The tech also does away with the
troublesome carbon nanotubes that IBM has been proposing, which are
currently too costly to produce chips with. Now we're just waiting
for AMD to announce a 22nm chip due next week and for half the cost,
then our day will be complete. Don't let us down, guys!
http://tinyurl.com/jvj6j

Gas station looks at gas-free future
SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- If the United States is going to end
its addiction to oil, the fuel station of the future might look like
Pearson Ford Fuel Depot.
Along with gasoline and diesel, the one-of-a-kind station -- part of
a dealership near busy Interstate 15 -- offers a full range of clean-
burning alternative fuels from ethanol to propane to BioWillie, a
brand of biodiesel made from soybeans and promoted by country music
legend Willie Nelson.
The station isn't profitable yet. But co-owner Mike Lewis said that
could change if oil prices force consumers to seriously consider
other fuels -- especially in San Diego, which regularly pays among
America's highest gas prices. (Watch what's the lesser of two evils
with gas prices -- 2:01)
"If you could make it profitable, you could do a whole lot more to
preserve the environment than all the mandates in the world," Lewis
said.
http://tinyurl.com/zekvb

OVERPRICED CRAPPY LOOKING ECO-FURNITURE FOR PEOPLE WHO YEARN FOR THAT
1970s FUAX MODERN LOOK!
http://www.inmod.com/fucotalo.html


TODAY IS A SHORT NEWSDAY FOR SOME REASON SO HERE ARE SOME THINGS I
DID NOT GET TO SHOW YOU FROM ANOTHER DAY:

Chinese remedy 'treats diabetes' Gardenia jasminoides The chemical
was taken from a form of gardenia A gardenia fruit extract used in
Chinese medicine for centuries to treat adult onset diabetes is
effective, scientists have found. The US team found a chemical from
the fruit blocks the action of an enzyme which stops the production
of insulin.
http://tinyurl.com/otm2k

In Israel, a Little Oil Goes a Long Way
June 7, 2006 08:00 AM - Karin Kloosterman, Israel
The Irish call it "the troubles"; over in Israel, we euphemistically
call political problems "the situation". As sad and complicated as
the situation may be for every human being involved, a few
individuals have risen above the crowd, like oil on water, and banded
together to make business over a much-loved Middle Eastern commodity:
olive oil. And converts to organic farming are emerging from unlikely
places. Thanks to the help of the environmental group Green Action
and the braveness of some entrepreneurial Palestinian farmers,
organic and fair trade olive oil is now available in Israeli shops.
http://tinyurl.com/od8f5

South Africa To Phase Out Incandescent Bulbs South Africa has plans
to phase out certain types of incandescent bulbs and replace them
with more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. Malebo Mahape, a
spokeperson for the Minerals and Energy Department, said the project
would first be looking to phase out more readily replaceable bulbs
like the 60 watt and 100 watt incandescent bulbs currently widely
used in South Africa. “It will not be possible to phase out all
kinds of incandescent or halogen type bulbs until readily available
alternative fluorescent ones are on the market,” Mahape said. She
said the department of trade and industry had been approached to
start drafting regulations to prohibit the import of certain classes
of bulbs. Investigations would also need to be completed on types of
bulbs, possible impact on local manufacturers and economic impact,
created by the phasing out of incandescent bulbs. A fluorescent bulb,
while more expensive than regular bulbs, lasts up to eight times as
long and uses 80% less energy, saving the consumer on lighting bills
and the replacement cost of bulbs.
http://tinyurl.com/mxrdx

Pallet-House: Modular Refugee Housing
http://www.treehugger.com/files/th_images/pallet.jpg
Emergency shelters should always be an important and prescient
subject for designers. However the need for efficient shelters to
help house displaced people seems more urgent than ever after the
series of natural disasters over the last year and very recently
again in Java. The work being taken on by groups such as Architecture
For Humanity and Habitat For Humanity is on an unimaginable scale and
they need all the help they can get. Various design solutions have
been put forward time and again over the years, some with more
success than others. Today we learnt of a proposal by I-Beam Design
called The Pallet-House, which uses wooden shipping pallet as a
modular construction material. New York based designers Azin Valy and
Suzan Wines originally developed the concept as transitional housing
for the returning refugees of Kosovo. ‘The competition guidelines
defined transitional housing as that which bridges the gap between
temporary tent shelter and permanent home. They stipulated that the
house last about five years, the time it takes a Kosovar family to
rebuild a typical stone house.’
http://tinyurl.com/rrakd

Sage Baby Connects Parents to Healthy Products With so many organic
and all-natural products out there today, it’s sometimes hard to
decide what to purchase, especially when it comes to your children.
Sage Baby is a new online resource dedicated to helping new and
expectant parents make the right organic and healthy choices for a
green lifestyle. From the nursery to toddler, Sage Baby wants to
share great products and advice by teaching parents one step at a
time, one choice at a time, that they can make sound, eco-conscious
choices that are good for their families. Sage Baby’s website is
very organized and easy to click through, making online shopping a
breeze. Sage Baby's wide range of product categories includes stylish
organic clothing, bedding, sheets and mattresses and natural skincare
products that avoid harmful chemicals and preservatives. We really
like the “Healthy Room” section, where they even have all-natural
cleaning products, air purifiers (shown here) and furniture made
especially for the little one. See Bonnie's post from earlier today
for more ideas on healthy baby products. ::Sage Baby
http://tinyurl.com/m4yy5

Pull, not Push for Overcoming Procrastination By default, we try to
push ourselves to overcome procastination - “I must finish this by
Friday” - “Let’s try harder”. Instead of this, there maybe a
better way - how about you are in control instead of the task/
environment control you?
… 2. Advice such as “just buckle down and do it,” “get
organized,” and “try harder” are based on a dysfunctional
definition of procrastination. What they’re really saying is: “If
you weren’t such a lazy bum you could do this. No fooling around.
Life is dull and hard. There’s no time for fun. Work is a horrible
thing to contemplate, but you have to do it anyway.” Most
procrastination happens because through procrastinating we are
temporarily able to relieve fears: fear of failure, fear of being
imperfect, fear of impossible expectations. Most of these fears, in
turn, are ultimately based in the idea that work and life are awful
struggles which we must somehow get through and that this whole
horrible process will somehow make us better people in the long run…
Read the page and look for a possible solution.
http://tinyurl.com/oqfp7

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Condensed Summaries
If you don’t have time to read the great book, Seven Habits of
Highly Effective People by Steven Covey, Michael Gray has released
his summary notes for the book:
* From Dependence to Interdependence
* Personality vs. Character Ethics
* Proactive, Personal Vision
* Beginning with the End in Mind
* Personal Management
* Paradigms of Interdependence
* Think Win-Win
* Seek to Understand, Then Be Understood
* Principles of Creative Cooperation
* Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal
* Conclusion
http://tinyurl.com/orkce

MIGHT BE USEFUL:
Clip-n-Seal Bag Clips - Variety 3 Pack
http://tinyurl.com/ruofy

Special forces to use strap-on 'Batwings'
By MATTHEW HICKLEY, Daily Mail 13:33pm 6th June 2006
Elite special forces troops being dropped behind enemy lines on
covert missions are to ditch their traditional parachutes in favour
of strap-on stealth wings.
The lightweight carbon fibre mono-wings will allow them to jump from
high altitudes and then glide 120 miles or more before landing -
making them almost impossible to spot, as their aircraft can avoid
flying anywhere near the target.
The technology was demonstrated in spectacular fashion three years
ago when Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner - a pioneer of freefall
gliding - famously 'flew' across the English Channel, leaping out of
an aircraft 30,000ft above Dover and landing safely near Calais 12
minutes later.
http://tinyurl.com/z4dp2

Wormbots poised to invade your gut Posted Jun 6th 2006 10:34PM by
Evan Blass
Filed under: Robots It's likely that many of our readers are vocal
proponents of the benefits derived from robotics research, but how
many of you would be willing to put your money a robot where your
mouth is -- literally -- and let it crawl down your throat to explore
your guts? While we would certainly never volunteer to be guinea pigs
for such a nascent technology, a team of European researchers are
surely going to have to find someone to test out their latest medical
device: a small bot whose locomotion was inspired by so-called
"paddle worms" (and which sounds very similar to a Korean invention
we once saw). It turns out that mimicking their fleshy counterparts
allows the wormbots to effortlessly navigate the slippery, elastic
walls of human intestines, and equipping them with cameras would
offer doctors a degree of investigative freedom that's impossible
with traditional "smart pills" or endoscopic procedures. Sounds good,
but we're gonna wait until at least several thousand people have
successfully ingested these bots -- and more importantly,
successfully purged them afterwards-- before we sign up to star in
our own personal remake of Fantastic Voyage.
http://tinyurl.com/gxsqo

Soda Flavors For The Brave (or stupid)

http://tinyurl.com/95v6m

Jones Soda Co. are the purveyors of many finely flavored beverages
that can be found year round in grocery stores, convenience stores,
and everywhere else you wouldn’t expect to find a soda.

National Pack
Regional Pack


Flavors: Brussels Sprout with Prosciutto, Cranberry Sauce, Turkey &
Gravy, Wild Herb Stuffing, and Pumpkin Pie.

Also included: Serving spoon, moistened towelette, and wine list.

Flavors: Broccoli Casserole, Smoked Salmon Paté , Turkey & Gravy,
Corn on the Cob, and Pecan Pie.
Also included: Serving spoon, moistened towelette.

news and stuff 5-30-06

The Puzzle Floor


Natural hardwood floors are all the rage now, and it's becoming much
more difficult to make a room really stand out with flooring choices.
A unique way to turn some heads is with a one of a kind Puzzle Floor.

Designed with just two interlocking tile shapes, the Puzzle Floor
uses rotation and thirteen color variations to produce an effect of
patchwork whimsy or artistic patterns. As a floating floor design the
Puzzle Floor pieces can be installed over an existing hardwood floor
or sub floor with no nailing or gluing, and the tiles snap together
by hand. No tools are needed, and the flooring is prefinished so no
painting or staining is required.

Though this flooring is beautiful it most definitely is on the
expensive side for hardwood floors. A Puzzle Floor will cost $15 per
square foot; but that does includes shipping and the design
consultations for developing a color layout to ensure a one of a kind
conversation floor. The factory is also able to laser engrave logos
or designs directly on the tiles for commercial applications.

Found via HGTV's I Want That!

http://tinyurl.com/mlmlw

Transfomer bag


Robots in disguise? No, we're not talking about the popular kid's TV
show that I grew up watching. This transformer is made by Fire First,
Japan and sells at Rare Device. As the product description states,
this is "a truly versatile bag." It's actually reconfigurable!
Whether you're feeling like wearing it over the shoulder, or around
the waist, you can pick and choose to suit your requirements or mood.
Heck you can even remove the pouches if you don't need them. With
enough tricks to make a Decepticon proud, you can be sure you'll keep
even yourself guessing.

http://tinyurl.com/pl5cn

Overcoming Procrastination The Easy Way Matt Inglot has an idea on
how to overcome his procrastination. He thinks it is simple and it
does not require discipline. He tries to kill his procrastination by
takeing on activities which forcefully fill up his time:

I’ve had a particularly busy schedule for the past two years, and
the results have been very interesting. Not only have I been getting
things done through the sheer force of having to do so, but overtime
I’ve naturally grown to appreciate time. My instinct to
procrastinate is far weaker than before and as I internalize the idea
of getting things done instead of procrastinating I am quite capable
of making use of my time effectively without the external forces
present. This is a key achievement for me in relation to running my
own business, as there is rarely anyone outside of the government
that forces me to do anything at all in that area

Does it work? It works for him. However in my opinion the outcome may
be varies for different people. Also by forcefully filling up the
time with tasks, it may defeat the purpose of enjoying pressure-free
and mind-free after overcoming procrastination.

http://tinyurl.com/mpbcg

Speed-Reading Techniques Speed-Reading is a nice skill to have. As
most of the knowledges are gained from books, and there are so many
readings to digest in work, speedreading can actually save us time.
Here is the quick start for you on learning this skill. Keith Drury
has written a quick article on teaching this technique. He starts off
with myths of reading, then talk about preparation, rapid reading
techniques and finally retention techniques. Some techniques in speed
reading are:

http://tinyurl.com/lz7dr

An Inconvenient Truth - Off to a Good Start We don't expect a film
based on a slide presentation to outdo Hollywood summer blockbusters
at the box office, but we're happy to see that An Inconvenient Truth
is doing very well so far: "On Wednesday an inconvenient truth was
the #11 movie in the country despite being in only 4 theaters,
earning $78,994 ($19,749/theater). The #10 movie was showing at 1,265
theaters, earning 117,000, or $92/theater."

http://tinyurl.com/ngynn

Energy Star @ Home If you liked Home Depot's 10 easy ways to green
your home, you'll love the Energy Star program's new Energy Star @
home Interactive Tool, sponsored by the US Environmental Protection
Agency. Not only does this page provide a very thorough list of tips
to save energy around the house, they've also created an interactive
home map that allows you to take specific actions for every area of
your home based on most common types of energy use for that area.
They've even provided the top five ways to keep your home cool and
your energy consumption low as we move into the summer months in
North America:

http://tinyurl.com/luwmd

New SLIM Bike Parking Solution by Modular TreeHugger loves bikes but
maybe only as long as we can cycle. When it comes to storing your
bike easily and safely, some of you might be lucky to have a sleek
Cyclepod or a breathtaking Bike Tree Locker near you but parking a
bike is not always without hassle and unpleasant surprises. Indoor
bike parking solutions are particularly challenging due to lack of
space but are more and more in demand the more people opt for cycling
to work.
This is why we welcome Modular’s refreshing parking solution called
Slim. Last weekend the first Slim parking got inaugurated at Terra
Foundation’s headquarters in Barcelona.

http://tinyurl.com/peq3z

(FOR JACK)

pcb fuser for toner transfer etching we’ve covered the toner
transfer method for creating circuit boards before. instead of using
an iron, rich uses the fuser out of a laser printer to get consistent
results. he wired a dimmer to the power supply to regulate the
temperature. the fuser has a built in thermistor, so you can read the
temp using an ohm meter. for rate control he built a stepper
controller that connects to a parallel port. using a simple program
he’s able to control both speed and direction.

http://tinyurl.com/rnnnm

Winning ideas of the ECOnomics Environmental Business Plan Challenge
Award
(link to this article)

May 29, 2006 The ECOnomics Environmental Business Plan Challenge
provides a US$50,000 award for the business plan that best combines
environmental innovation and profitability. Created by General
Electric and The Wall Street Journal, the four finalists and winner
of the award were recently announced and the quality of the ideas
validated the exercise, with Robert Wright taking the gong for his
Heated Air Spray Evaporation (HASE) Watervap technology (top of main
pic) that will help solve the most universal human need: potable
water. Another of the finalists, LiquidPiston, (bottom of main pic)
was also a finalist of the prestigious MIT $50K Entrepreneurship
competition. LiquidPiston is a novel internal combustion engine
architecture, which is claimed to offer double the fuel efficiency of
existing engines while drastically reducing pollutant emissions. The
engine is based on a patent-pending "High Efficiency Hybrid
Cycle" (HEHC) thermodynamic cycle, borrowing elements from Otto,
Diesel, Atkinson, and Rankine cycles. The finalists of the
competition can be found here.

http://tinyurl.com/peb22

Strawjet - making buildings out of straw
(link to this article)

May 30, 2006 Every now and again, a technology comes along that is so
momentous that it changes the way we do things from that point forth.
Last year we saw the LifeStraw and this year, Strawjet. Strawjet just
took out the History Channel’s Modern Marvels Invent Now Challenge
and we suspect the sudden attention from this respected global medium
will help to garner universal support for an ingenious idea.

http://tinyurl.com/nby7c

Alternate Reality Gaming V2.0
Posted by Hemos on Monday May 29, @08:04AM from the hopefully-no-one-
will-sue-over-arg-2.0 dept. ItsIllak writes "Alternate Reality Games
[ARGs] have been bubbling under for the past 10 years now. Usually
completely homebrew or attached to big budget productions, they have
been used to create buzz around a game, product or movie. Perplex
City have bucked that trend. Their ARG is completely independent of
anything else, its entirely self contained. With fresh ideas on
income generation and a $200,000 top prize to whomever finds the real
life buried treasure - is this the future of an entirely new form of
entertainment?"
http://tinyurl.com/ocml7

This month's best indie games
Posted May 29th 2006 4:35PM by Jordan Running
Filed under: Fun, Games


Well, the month isn't out yet, but that hasn't stopped Game Tunnel
from publishing their list of indie game picks for May. It's an even
mix of puzzle, adventure, strategy, and action games, all indie and
all in the $10-20 price range. Their Game of the Month is Eets, which
is describe as a cross between Lemmings and The Incredible Machine
with colorful, cartoony graphics and a sense of humor. Each game is
ranked by four reviewers who know their stuff, and of course demos
and trials are only a click away.
http://tinyurl.com/r8hx2

TIME FOR NEWS-N-SHMOOZ!

YET ANOTHER PROJECT I WIL NEVER FIND TIME TO DO:
Surveyor SRV-1 bot monitors your home on the cheap
Posted May 26th 2006 6:55AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Robots


If you have one of those floors that need very close monitoring
throughout the day, the Surveyor SRV-1 is the robot for you. The
little unit can crawl around your home at around one foot per second,
and reports back on its surroundings with a miniature VGA camera. A
100 meter range Zigbee 802.15.4 wireless receiver is included to let
the SRV-1 stream its findings to your computer and up onto the web,
and you can control and monitor the bot with any major operating
system or via a web browser. If you don't feel like taking manual
control of SRV-1, he can do fine by himself driving around,
navigating obstacles, and even communicating with others of his kind
via IR. The best news is the price: at $375 for the bot, the charger
and the wireless base station, SRV-1 shouldn't break the bank, and
seems ready to provide some good times for the robot hobbyist within
us all.
http://tinyurl.com/zpb3t

Soldiers bond with bots on battlefield
Posted May 25th 2006 8:35PM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Robots


They may not be as cuddly as RI-MAN or as human-like as EveR-1, but
Reuters is reporting that soldiers in Iraq have nonetheless formed
strong bonds with their battlefield bots, giving them names and
grieving when they meet an unfortunate end. When one bomb defusing
PackBot from Roomba-maker iRobot named "Scooby Doo" was blown up
after 35 successful missions, the bot's operator asked of iRobot,
"Please fix Scooby Doo, because he saved my life."Of course, humans
forming meaningful emotional attachments to their robot companions
and servants is by no means unusual; studies have shown robo-pets to
be as therapeutic as the real thing, and bots like Paro the seal have
been helping patients in nursing facilities for years now (and are
even crossing over to starring in movies). Still, if there's one kind
of robot we'd want to stay away from as the robot-revolution looms
near, it's that kind designed for military use. Ruh roh, Raggy.
http://tinyurl.com/pfrd6

ANOTHER SIMULTANEUS MULTI-USER TOUCH PAD VIDEO, WITH COOL MUSIC AND
NEAT FEATURES, WORTH NOTING:
http://tinyurl.com/18r

The world’s fastest catamaran May 25, 2006 At 36.8 metres, Orange
II is a very large catamaran, designed that way so it can track
straight and true at very high speeds. Almost certainly the fastest
boat on the water, in August 2004, Bruno Peyron piloted Orange II in
an attempt on the crewed Transatlantic record, missing the mark by
minutes but setting a new 24-hour distance record by covering 706.2
miles at an average speed of 29.42 knots. In March 2005, Peyron and a
13-man crew completely blew away the around-the-world sailing record
set by adventurer Steve Fossett onboard Cheyenne – Orange II’s new
mark of 50 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes eclipsed Fossett’s record
by seven days. The magnificent maxi-catamaran is now at the Newport
Shipyard in Rhode Island, waiting for the appropriate weather window
to begin another record transatlantic attempt. Interestingly, Fossett
holds the transatlantic record too – set aboard PlayStation, Fossett
raised the outright Atlantic crossing record to a point where it can
in some ways be compared to the 100-metre dash in athletics. In order
to beat the record, Peyron will need to bring all the ingredients
together for a perfect race: smooth straight lines on a direct course
for home, a strong and steady wind from the right direction… and a
level of human endeavour befitting the ocean: a colossal effort! When
he starts his endeavour some time in the next week or two, he will
have four days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and six seconds to sail across
the Atlantic.
http://tinyurl.com/h2o65

VERY COOL TECH (TAKE NOTE):
Water, Water Everywhere By Susan Brown ScienceNOW Daily News 25
May 2006 A desert beetle that wrings water from fog has inspired
scientists to create a nanomaterial that literally plucks moisture
from the air. The invention could boost water supplies in the driest
regions, say experts, and a similar setup could be used to precisely
control the flow of tiny amounts of fluids for sensitive diagnostic
tests. Stenocara beetles live in the Namib Desert, one of the driest
places on Earth. Located on the southwest coast of Africa, the region
has scarce, unpredictable rainfall and no streams. On mornings when
thick fog drifts in from the Atlantic Ocean, the insect climbs to the
top of a dune and does a headstand, tilting its back into the breeze.
Water droplets collect on the tops of smooth bumps until they spill
into waxy, water-repellent grooves studded with smaller bumps that
shunt the water down the insect's shell into its mouth (ScienceNOW, 1
November 2001). To copy the beetle's water-collecting design,
materials scientist Michael Rubner, chemical engineer Robert Cohen,
and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
Cambridge created a rough coating so water repelling--or hydrophobic--
that water sprayed onto it stood up in nearly spherical droplets.
First, they wrinkled polymer films onto glass to create micrometer-
sized hills and valleys. Then, to prevent droplets from getting
trapped in the valleys, the team decorated the surface with glass
nanoparticles coated with water-repellent Teflon-like molecules.

http://tinyurl.com/gcuuu

Yokel
Really smart yellow pages


Yokel makes finding local "things" less time-consuming and more cost-
efficient (especially with the gas prices these days). Similar to
GoogleMaps and YahooLocal but with more relevant results. And the
Yokel search engine helps comparison shop online for things you want
to buy offline at local stores. All you need to do is type in what
you are looking for and the city or zip code you want to buy it in
and Yokel provides the results. It seemed really helpful for items
you wouldn't want to ship or more abstract items like a motorcycle
trailer.

-- Kate

Yokel

http://tinyurl.com/huww7

The Keep It Simple Solar Tile - KISSTile

Roof mounted solar panels are nothing new, but an Australian designer
has added a second feature that he hopes will spur adoption.
Sebastian Braat has prototyped a roofing system of solar panels that
are contain a grid of plastic tubing. Water runs through the tubing,
absorbs heat from the sun, and is piped to the living areas for
household needs. The system provides an energy savings on two levels
and, depending on the size of the dwelling, can easily supply enough
hot water for a family. From Sebastian's Australian Design Award
Announcement: The KISSPower project aims to provide Australian
households with a solar power solution more suited to the domestic
environment than the currently available options. Encouraging
Australian homeowners to embrace solar power is no small task;
although a world leader in solar technology and the third largest
producer of photovoltaic (PV) panels, Australia’s focus seems to
have been restricted to remote and industrial applications. Bringing
this established expertise into the urban environment requires a
fresh view on the industry and a new consideration of PV use. The
secret to this system is the inefficiency of the current crop of
solar panels. Solar panels are only able to harness a small
percentage of the energy available, and this overflow is what gives
the KISSTile system a leg up over traditional solar installations.
Found on Gadgetizer

http://tinyurl.com/j8p9p

JUST DON'T WEAR IT TO A BAR, THIS WILL NOT IMPRESS THE LADIES:
Beer Holster
GEAR | OUTDOOR | 
You might not be an outlaw from Deadwood, but you can still do a
quick draw from the hip with this leather beer holster ($30). It
slides onto any standard belt and holds a 12 oz. can or bottle. The
holster isn't just for laughs either — it'd be super handy for
grilling and other outdoor activities. See you at high noon.

http://tinyurl.com/k8jhm

REDNECK HOT-TUB DONE EUROPEAN STYLE:


Dutchtub
GEAR | OUTDOOR | 
What's the biggest problem with hot tubs? They pretty much have to
stay in one place. The Dutchtub ($5625) is a portable hot tub that
warms its water by way of connected outer pipes that coil around a
fire basket, letting a natural fire do the work of warming the water
all the way up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. It also features a wine
bottle holder with space for ice to keep your white/bubbly cool while
you stay warm in the water. With available BBQ, chimney, and trailer
accessories, we can't wait to get our hands on one and take it to the
closest beach we can find — which unfortunately for us is hours and
hours away. [Thanks, Luigi]

http://tinyurl.com/fxbee

A Dirty Job
ENTERTAINMENT | BOOKS | 
A Dirty Job ($16), the latest work of phenom Christopher Moore, is a
curiously creative novel that peers into the underworld, but with
just enough humor to make the demons seem like a punch line. Charlie
Asher accidently becomes Death and gets taken on a six year long wild
ride as one of a dozen or so grim reapers in San Francisco. They used
to have coffee together, but then voices started coming out of the
storm drains and they decided it was best for the balance of the
universe to not communicate. Add in a small army of 14" tall squirrel
people made up of different animal parts and human souls (based off
of this artist) and you've got yourself a book worth reading.

http://tinyurl.com/hlt2h

news 5-11-06

FOR YARIV:
book review: The Game Design Reader Katie Salen from the New School
and Eric Zimmerman of GameLab have put together the "Game Design
Reader" (MIT Press 2006), the first reader specifically about the
design of games.
The editors have gathered an impressive collection of seminal essays
on games and their design. This diverse set of readings include early
academic studies of games and play from the 70s, when very little
research was being done in the area. Writings on video game design
and game play cover early Atari games to Massively Multi-player
Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) and everything in between. The
reader itself opens with a series of short essays written by Salen
and Zimmerman, with titles like "Gaming the Game" and "Game Design
Models," each referencing relevant content included in the reader, as
well as a "further reading" list.

http://tinyurl.com/mrpgw

Debugging Essential technological literacy These days debugging is an
necessary life skill. Anything high tech has more ways of failing
than ever before. In this complexity breakage is commonly buried. You
need to be systematic to find a failure point in a system, and to be
certain about it. But debugging skills are not taught anywhere. This
book teaches you how to troubleshoot. It is meant for engineers
debugging computer programs, but the principles of debugging can
easily be applied to any engineered system -- your car, home
plumbing, a new gizmo, old laptop, hi-fi system, or anything with
many moving parts. The book is easy, with lots of war stories. I
learned a lot. Lately I've become the defacto system administrator
for the network of seven computers in our household, and these
principles have upped my success rate in clearing up the inevitable
problems.
What you get: essential technological literacy. -- KK

http://tinyurl.com/qds5z

AND HERE ARE THE RULES IT MENTIONS:

http://www.debuggingrules.com/

THIS KID CAN GO TO ANY COLLEGE HE WANTS:

The daily news so often brings us such doom and gloom about the fate
of people and the planet that it can become overwhelming. We may
think to ourselves, “How can little ole me contribute anything of
worth to improving this morass?” This was the question Ryan Hreljac
asked, when informed of the plight of African families struggling
without access to clean water. Ryan, undaunted by the challenge
before him as a 6 year old school kid, set out to right this wrong.
He persuaded his parents to pay him to do extra chores and finally
came up with the $75 he thought was needed to drill a well. Turns out
that was for a hand pump, a well was more like $2,000. He redoubled
his efforts and some months later presented this money to WaterCan.
They dug a well on his behalf next to a school in Uganda. Impressive,
huh? Not for Ryan it wasn't.

http://tinyurl.com/o52qy

A 4.1 GHz Dual Core at $130?
Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday May 10, @06:46PM from the power-
on-a-budget dept. joshmo97 writes "Tom's Hardware has found that the
Pentium D 805 runs stable at 4.1 GHz and outperforms Intel and AMD's
flagship offerings in many benchmarks. From the article: 'The Pentium
D 805 is a budget CPU, but it puts lots of processors from AMD and
Intel to shame. Although it is not based on the latest 65 nm core,
this CPU remains stable even when operating at amazing 4.1 GHz. The
Pentium D 805 ascends to the throne as the new King of overclocking,
knocking out the AMD Opteron 144.'"
http://tinyurl.com/p4uxv

A 4.1 GHz Dual Core at $130 - Can it be True?
http://tinyurl.com/ewqrn

Huge GTD Series at Brandon 3.0 There’s a huge wealth of posts at
Brandon 3.0 about Getting Things Done. I like them because it’s a
personal skinning of the popular book by David Allen (we don’t have
to tell you that any more, do we?). Brandon starts us out with a
great question to ask yourself: WHY do GTD? How’s it better than
what you’re doing now?
After that, Brandon covers part 1 of a series in a post entitled
“Collection.” It’s great because it recaps the book, but it adds
Brandon’s voice and thoughts on the matter. I urge you to check it
out.

http://tinyurl.com/m4h78

Rare Mirage Lasts for 4 Hours off East China Shorehttp://
tinyurl.com/kymlq

(JACK WILL YELL AT ME FOR THIS BUT....) I KNEW IT!!!! I said this
was a good idea, i said it was possible and that it SHOULD be done,
and I was told no, it could not be done, not by me and not soon......
and yet here it is at almost the price point I wanted:

iSee 360 Hands On Scenario: A bartender feeds drink after drink to an
ATO employee in order to pry the iSee 360 from his plastered hands.
The result? It’s about as heavy as it looks, but let me tell you the
screen is great. Being a typical geek I asked if it had DivX support
and he said it’s coming soon (firmware upgrade?). The thing is
sweet. The only downside is a 4hr battery life
(according to the rep). Real easy to use. Available now for $249.

http://tinyurl.com/qpnb5

$10M Prize for Hydrogen Fuel Technology WASHINGTON - Scientists,
inventors and entrepreneurs will be able to vie for a grand prize of
$10 million, and smaller prizes reaching millions of dollars, under
House-passed legislation to encourage research into hydrogen as an
alternative fuel. Legislation creating the "H-Prize," modeled after
the privately funded Ansari X Prize that resulted last year in the
first privately developed manned rocket to reach space twice, passed
the House Wednesday on a 416-6 vote. A companion bill is to be
introduced in the Senate this week.

http://tinyurl.com/zz47b

AS I HAVE OFTEN BEEN TOLD... THE MASSES ARE ASSES!

Bird Flu Movie Sparks Panic Calls And Enquiries After watching the
ABC movie ‘Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America' last night, telephone
helplines from all over the USA have been receiving calls from
anxious viewers. At Medical News Today we have received 112 emails
from people in the USA with questions ranging from ‘How could other
countries be so selfish as to withhold vaccines?' to ‘I woke up with
a temperature and a cough this morning, do you think I may have
caught the bird flu?' As the movie was pure fiction, not a
documentary, and bird flu has not yet arrived in the USA, it baffles
me how people can be angry at other countries or wonder whether they
are infected. Possibly, the movie may have awoken public awareness.
The trouble is, ‘Fatal Contact' depicts such an unlikely scenario
that one wonders what kind of preparations people will now be making
as a result of watching the film. If a group of people next door
start coughing, will people who live in that street rush to the local
supermarket and stock up on vital supplies and medicines? The world
is facing a probable flu pandemic. The H5N1 bird flu virus strain
will probably mutate. However, it will not spread like wildfire the
minute one man flies in from Hong Kong to America and coughs. It is
important that everyone who saw the film realises it was a
dramatization, a piece of fiction - not a documentary. THERE IS NO
BIRD FLU IN THE USA AT PRESENT. THERE IS NO HUMAN FLU PANDEMIC
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD AT PRESENT.

http://tinyurl.com/rxf3d

Sony, Microsoft about to be bottlenecked by Nintendo WE HAVE TALKED
to a lot of developers here at E3 Halls, mostly over informal drinks.
Several expressed extreme dissatisfaction over the performance shown
by both Sony and Microsoft consoles. The main problem for the
PlayStation 3 console is that it is still in a heavy prototype stage.
And the performance in many cases just isn't there. One of the
reasons offered to us is the actual hardware installed in the
console. Since this generation was all about pricing instead of
technology, those savings are the reason why Crysis and many more
titles will remain PC exclusives, since consoles don't have the
horsepower. Developers have voiced out their disappointment in not
being able to do what they've planned to do.

http://tinyurl.com/ljt5g